Black Lives Matter: 5 Books to Gain Better Knowledge of Black History

The tragic and unwarranted death of George Floyd at the hands of the police in May this year sparked international outrage and angry protests across America. Many across the globe wanted to highlight the injustices that still face minority communities everywhere in the world but were quite unsure how we could play our part in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. I was one of those people, and so while I was unable to attend any protests I did my best to try and gain a greater understanding and learn about the history that black communities still have to live with the consequences of. In this article, I will recommend some of the books and other resources I used over lockdown that I learned a great deal from.

This collection of essays, edited by activist Angela Y. Davis was published while Davis was awaiting trial for involvement in a crime which she was subsequently acquitted. We hear the voices of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton as well as James Baldwin and Davis herself.

The essays discuss the reality of the United States prison system for black people in the 70’s. Many of the issues raised still exist to this today and every word can be brought into today contexts, making it a very worthwhile read.

For those who have a hard time reading long and heavy books, I’d recommend this small collection of essays published in 2018 as part of the Penguin Modern series from influential activist and novelist, James Baldwin.

The writing style of Baldwin is so impactful in its honesty and bluntness and his experience growing up in Harlem. His matter of fact approach when discussing racism is deeply moving, particularly in the third essay The White Man’s Guilt which rightly puts the responsibility on white people to play their part in ending racism.

Douglass was Americas most famous abolitionist. Having escaped slavery some 20 years before the Emancipation Proclamation, his story detailed in his memoir made a huge impact and is still today one of the most poignant stories I have ever read.

Similar to Baldwin, Douglass’s writing is simply put and the tales are heart wrenching but they are extremely powerful and useful in understanding the reality of racism at its core, and when read in the context of modern day, remembering how far we still have to go even today.

This book has been an extremely popular resource for many people this year. It deals with the realities of White Privilege and is a great tool for learning how your own life might be affected by your privilege, how that impacts those around you and how you can use it for the greater good and help dismantle the racism we see all around us.

Similarly to DiAngelo’s White Fragility, How To Be Anti-Racist is a guide to those looking to find out how they can help dismantle racism in their everyday life. The idea is more prevalent now than ever that is it not enough anymore to just not be a racist, that we must attack and analyse ourselves and others to really deconstruct racism in even its most subtle forms within our everyday lives. For those who agree, this is the book for you.

Fionn Crossan